Users of taxi mobileapp company Uber last month donated over $300,000 in just two days through a new top-up to donate function. The beneficiary was No Kid Hungry, a US nonprofit working to end childhood hunger in America.

The company had hoped to raise enough to fund three million meals for children to be provided by the charity. The function proved so popular though that the money raised was enough for over five million meals.

In-app donations?

According to Charitweet, Uber achieved this fundraising success by handling in-app donations, in defiance of Apple’s policy on in-app donations which states that they are not permitted. Donations to charities in apps must be completed via text or the web (using the Apple Safari browser) – not within the app.

Charitweet applauded Uber’s approach on the grounds that it made giving easy, saying:

“We applaud Uber for disrupting the system in a positive way – but isn’t it time to make donations easier for all involved?”

They also set up a petition to Apple on Change.org to ask the company to do precisely that by allowing in-app charitable donations. At the time of publication it needed another 362 signatures.

About Howard Lake

Howard Lake is a digital fundraising entrepreneur. Publisher of UK Fundraising, the world's first web resource for professional fundraisers, since 1994. Trainer and consultant in digital fundraising. Founder of Fundraising Camp.

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